At the beginning of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Warren Nelson lost his job with the Park Hotel in Great Falls, Montana. He later joined a quasi-legal gambling business operating in the back rooms of a local cigar store. As Warren Nelson set about learning the craft of gambling, the state of Nevada was creating a legal and political environment in which he and many of his colleagues would flourish. In Montana, Warren Nelson learned how to set up and operate a Chinese lottery game called keno and brought it to Reno. Warren Nelson was an operator who was influential in the evolution of casino gaming. He was often an early and important participant in innovations and changes that brought great success to the industry. The story of Warren Nelson’s personal journey, from his start as a “gambler” to his current position as a respected casino operator, can be read as a metaphor for the rise of Nevada’s gaming industry.